1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to devices for cleaning the interior sidewalls of chimneys and flue pipes having a scraper means that moves longitudinally up and down the chimney or flue pipe; a collection means to collect the soot scraped off the interior side walls; bracket means permanently installed at the top of the chimney and rope and pulley means to move the scraping and collection means vertically upward or downward.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flues and chimneys should be cleaned at least every five years, but preferably more often. Due to the cost, and more often neglect, this task is usually overlooked until a problem develops. Statistics have shown that many fires are caused by ignition of flammable substances in soot.
Prior methods of chimney and flue cleaning are well known. One method of attending to the matter and at the same time spending little or no money is to drop a stuffed bag (weighted and held by a rope) down the flue. While this method is effective, it necessitates getting on top of the roof, at the risk of falling. In addition, the thought of saturating the house (even if care is taken) with soot is not a pleasant one.
Basically, every chimney cleaner should meet four basic criteria. It should have a scraping means. It should have a soot collection means. It should be simple to operate. It should be inexpensive.
Prior patents of some relevance are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,777,815 and 1,390,831. U.S. Pat. No. 1,777,815 teaches an extremely complex device using a plurality of scrapers and a pulley and chain system to move the scrapers vertically upward and downward. A shaft with sprockets is used to accomplish this movement. A support plate is placed at the top of the chimney to support the apparatus. No soot collection means is provided. The entire apparatus must be installed and removed for each use.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,390,831 discloses an insertable and rotatable flue cleaner. It is difficult to see how this device can be fabricated to clean the full length of a chimney. It also has no soot collection means.
The apparatus of this invention enables the task of cleaning a chimney or flue pipe to be done from inside the house with a minimum of effort. It utilizes an adjustable scraper with a bag to catch and collect the soot. It also uses a bracket means permanently installed at the top of the chimney and a pulley means to enable any person to hoist the scraping means and soot collection means vertically upward and downward within the chimney. As a safety measure, a return rope is included.
The apparatus of the present inventions provides a scraping means, a soot collection means, a simple operational means, all in a device that is easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture. With such a device, chimneys can be cleaned frequently, at least once a year, with consequent energy saving and fire prevention.